


The Sage Grove Five

by EternalHope7



Category: The Boys (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Avatar: The Last Airbender References, Awkwardness, Changed Backgrounds, Character Death, Cinnamon Roll Hughie Campbell, Cussing, Death Threats, Depressed Team Dad Lamplighter, Depression, Emotional Manipulation, Escape, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Guilt, Hugs, Imprisonment, Lamplighter Reluctantly Lives, Men Crying, Murder, Nazis, Non-Consensual Drug Use, OP Cindy, POV Alternating, POV Multiple, Plantbending, Plants, Protective Cindy, Racism, Scary Team Mom Cindy, Sky High (2005) References, Slow To Update, Stranger Things (TV 2016) References, Suicidal Thoughts, Superpowered Hughie Campbell, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Threats of Violence, Tim Lives, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:07:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26673391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalHope7/pseuds/EternalHope7
Summary: Hughie is an unwilling patient at Sage Grove Center who dreams of escaping and returning to his dad and girlfriend.Cindy can't understand how she became the world's deadliest mother hen to three nervous, skinny men.Lamplighter? He just wishes someone would put him out of his misery.Starlight is a bright eyed girl who's just happy to have been accepted into the Seven.Stormfront knows her destiny. She'll stand at the front of a new era.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 179





	1. 03-16-1994

John stared at the screen. At the man in the picture. He was frozen in the act of swinging his bat. John glanced up at his newest tutor. The new woman was nothing special - she wore a loose black dress and had her dark hair combed back into a tight ponytail. Why wasn't she moving the presentation forward? She wasn't looking at him. She was looking at the screen. John frowned. He knew that he'd gotten his words right. He could repeat everything with his eyes shut now. Maybe if he said them again?

"Baseball's my favorite sport." She finally moved on to the next slide. He didn't even look at the picture, instead continuing to study her. "Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior." John sometimes wished that they would change the pictures up a bit. A new order. Different images. It was always the same.

"Now for something new," she quietly said. John looked at the screen as it changed. A family sat at a table, their bowls full of foods he didn't recognize. "This is a national holiday called Thanksgiving. On the fourth Thursday of every November, families feast and think about what they're grateful for." He studied the picture. A girl. A boy. An adult man and woman. They were all grinning at each other.

"Which one's the daddy?" John asked. She pointed up at the tallest man. He cocked his head. Considered the man. "Do I have a daddy?" The woman gave a small chuckle. She still didn't look at him.

"Of course you do, silly." That hadn't really been an answer.

"Who?" John asked. She glanced back at him and only smiled. He frowned. "Are you my mommy, then?" The tutor turned to fully face him. She walked across the room to set her controller on his desk. The woman kneeled so she could look him in the eye. Good. Her skin flickered away as he stared through her. Heart. Blood. Veins. All moving together. In tandem.

"I would love to be your mommy, John." Nothing changed. Her heartbeat didn't go up. John focused on her face. She was still smiling. Odd.

"Would you love me?" he asked. The tutor grinned at that.

"I would." He glanced at her heart. It beat steady.

"Would you always take care of me?" That would trip her up. The tutors never stayed long. He either killed them or they left. Never the same one twice.

"Always," the woman assured him. Still no change. She... meant it? That didn't make sense. He wasn't really her son. She wasn't really his mommy. She wasn't lying but she was. As the tutor shifted to stand he launched himself off his chair and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Oh!" She startled at that. Real surprise. He held her tighter. She hadn't been lying but she was. He waited for the grinding and cracking of bones. For her breath to go thin. For the panic.

It-

Didn't come.

He looked up at her. She smiled down at him and ran a hand through his hair.

"My silly boy," the woman said, "I don't break that easily." She what? His grip loosened a bit. A muffled scream from the other side of the wall made him look. His eyes gleamed as he peered through to the other side. John froze. There was a tall, masked man standing in the observation room. He had a sword. It. It was sticking out of Doctor Samuel's stomach. Doctor Becker was fine but he went deathly pale as the other doctor slid to the floor. John couldn't hear that man's heartbeat any more. He was... gone? The masked man gestured once towards the door and Becker trembled as he walked out. The two made their way to his room. John let go of the woman and stepped back. This had never happened before. What... What was going on?

"Doctor Becker," the tutor greeted him with a warm smile. "Thank you." She stepped away from John and clasped the doctor's shoulder. "Your loyalty to the cause will be remembered and rewarded." Cause? What was she talking about? "Without you," the woman looked back at him, "we would've never found him." She smoothed the bottom of her dress back as she kneeled before him again.

"John?" He looked back at the dead doctor. Blood. He'd never actually seen it outside of a person before. He hadn't known that it'd pool like water around them. "Can you hear me?" A light touch to his shoulder. Just like what she'd done with the doctor. He looked at her. "I can be your mommy now, John, isn't that lovely?"


	2. Real Deal

Hughie sighed and rolled over in his bed. He shut his eyes at the quiet knock at his door.

"Go away, dad." The door creaked on its hinges as it opened. Of course the man wasn't going to listen to him.

"Hey, Hughie." Dad's voice was soft. Hesitant. "I called in to your job. Talked to your boss. He said it was fine if you didn't come in today." Whatever. "Hughie?" The young man finally rolled over to face his dad.

"What?"

"How're you feeling?"

"Freaking peachy, dad. Totally fine."

"I..." His dad took breath and his shoulders slumped as he sighed it out. "I know you're not feeling great, but I want you to understand that this is just temporary, okay?" Temporary? Feeling like this on and off ever since mom had left was _temporary_? "If you can just focus on how things are going to get better-"

"Why should I, dad?" Hughie shifted to look up at his dad. "It's not like I'm going anywhere with my life."

"Hughie-" His dad tried to start again. The young man cut him off.

"We all know it. I do. Robin does. You do."

"No!" Dad squatted down beside his bed and reached out to take his hands. "I believe in you. I _do_." Hughie didn't try to shake his hands off. Why bother.

"You don't."

"You just- you need help. Help I..." Dad ran a hand over his face and sighed. "I can't give you." Hughie shut his eyes. Shit. They'd had talks like this in the past. Dad had gotten him another freaking therapist, hadn't he. Might as well have flushed that money down the drain. Hughie tried not to feel guilty. It wasn't his fault his dad kept trying to fix him. Why couldn't the man just see that it _wasn't working_? "I found someone," dad quietly said. "An organization. We've talked a bit. I think..." Dad ran a thumb over Hughie's knuckles. "I think they could be the ones. The real deal." Hughie rolled his eyes. How many times had his dad thought that before too? "Their program, it's, um, different. Really different, but I trust the people behind it. They want to help us, Hughie. Help you. I-" Dad let go of his hand and Hughie frowned as the man brushed a hand through his hair. What the fuck? "I love you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah." The young man shrugged. "I know." His dad smiled.

"Good," he said. "I just wanted to tell you that. I love you." Okay, this was getting weird. Where was all this heart to heart coming from? Hughie sat up in his bed and his dad drew back.

"What's-?" Something pricked the side of his neck. Felt like a mosquito bite. Hughie brushed at it and blinked when his hand hit glass. He pulled the small dart out and rubbed at his neck. It tingled. "Dad?" He looked up at the man. "What'd..." Hughie blinked. His dad's face looked weird. Blurry. "What'd you..." His eyes were heavy. This was too weird to deal with. Maybe... maybe he should just... go back to....

* * *

Hugh Campbell startled back as a streak of blue and red flashed past him. He relaxed at the sight of the red and white cape. Homelander. He took a breath and tried to stop his hands from shaking as the superhero gently picked Hugh's son up. God. The man was so strong. He made it look like he was carrying a doll. When Homelander turned towards him, Hughie lying limp in his grasp, Hugh couldn't stop himself from reaching for his son. He stroked his boy's hair as he studied his face. They'd assured him the injection was safe, but what if it wasn't? What if-?

"He's fine," Homelander quietly assured him. His eyes gleamed a bright blue as he examined Hughie. "Just sleeping, that's all." Hugh breathed a sigh of relief. They both turned as the bedroom door opened again. Mrs. Voit rapped on the door and gave a little wave.

"Uh, please, come in." Hugh invited her in. The woman stepped inside and made her way to Homelander's side. She peered down at Hughie.

"How's he doing?" She asked the man. "No adverse reactions?"

"None," the superhero replied.

"Good," she said. "If you'll take him to the van, I'll finish up things here." Homelander started towards the door.

"Wait!" It was out before Hugh could stop himself. "Could I... Please..." His cheeks burned with embarrassment. What was he doing? They were on a schedule and here he was interrupting them... Mrs. Voit nodded and Homelander turned back to him. Hugh reached out and ran a hand through his son's hair again. It was so soft. The boy and his stupid kid's shampoo... Hugh sniffed and stepped back. "Thank you," he whispered. The superhero cradled his son close as he left the room. Thin fingers curled around his shoulder and Hugh looked back at Mrs. Voit. The lady smiled, her expression soft.

"You're doing the right thing, Mr. Campbell. I promise we'll take good care of your son."

"I know," Hugh said. His hands tightened. Damn it, he wasn't going to cry!

"Now, I just wanted to make sure that you understood Sage Grove's terms of enrollment. Would you please repeat them for me?"

"It-" Hugh swallowed. "It'll be a year long stay. I can't visit Hughie, but I can give you recorded messages to relay to him."

"I know that sounds hard," Mrs. Voit said, "but it truly is for the best. We need Hughie to be completely focused on his own self betterment. Outside influences will only distract him."

"I get it," Hugh assured her. He'd been preparing for this ever since he'd signed on that dotted line but it still didn't really feel real yet. A whole year. He wouldn't get to see his son for a whole year.

"I know that this might be a bit earlier than you expected," the therapist reached into the left pocket of her skirt and pulled out a slim recorder, "but Hughie's going to be waking up in a strange new place. We've found that it helps if our patients have a familiar voice to listen to." She offered the recorder to him. Mrs. Voit was right. This was a lot faster than he'd expected. Still, Hugh took it from her. If it'd help his son adjust to his new surroundings, the man would find his words. "I'll wait outside," the woman said. She walked out of the room and shut the door. Hugh looked at Hughie's empty bed and shuddered at the way his heart clenched. He sat down on the rumpled sheets and tried to think about what he'd say. The man hit the record button.

"Hey, Hughie. It's me," he began. "I know that you're probably really scared right now, but I promise that everything's going to be okay..."


	3. Real

Hughie woke up and groaned at the kink in his back. Shitty genetics, he thought to himself as he rubbed a hand over the sore spot.

“Hughie?” A woman’s voice made his eyes pop open. The man jerked upright and startled at the strange new room around him. What the hell? Where was his room? A woman sat at the other side of the white table. She had short black hair and wore a dark purple dress. Hughie was certain he’d never seen her before.

“Where am I?” He looked around the small white room. All it had was the table. “Who’re you?”

“It’s all right,” she told him in a soft, reassuring voice. “You’re safe, Hughie.”

“How do you know my name?” _Where the fuck was he_?

“I’m Klara,” the woman introduced herself. “Klara Voit. I run Sage Grove, the rehabilitation center your father enrolled you into.” What? Sage Grove? Rehabilitation? She reached across the table and took his hands in her own, rubbing her thumbs over his knuckles. “I know that you’re scared right now, Hughie. That’s a perfectly normal reaction. Here.” The woman let go of one of his hands and reached down into a pocket to pull a small recorder out. Hughie nervously licked his lips. He’d heard about centers and camps that staged kidnappings to transport teens. He’d just- He’d never actually thought _he’d_ be put through one. If that was what this even was. She set the device on the table and clicked play. Hughie felt strange as he listened to his dad explain what was happening. “Do you understand now?” she asked when the recording ended.

“I- Um. I just, I’m not sure.” The woman smiled at him.

“I know that it’ll take a while for this to sink in, but I promise you - we’re here to help.” She pocketed the recorder and then stood from her seat before she gestured to the door. “I’ll give you a tour of our facility. We should start familiarizing you with your new home!” As Hughie stood he pinched himself. It hurt. Oh god, he thought, this was real.


End file.
